Illustration to "Bandello" 1947

Editor: We’re looking at Imre Reiner’s 1947 illustration for "Bandello," rendered in graphic art print. It strikes me as incredibly raw, almost like a charcoal sketch in its immediacy. What do you make of this work, how does it speak to you? Curator: Raw is the word, isn't it? It's a bit like peering into someone's dream. Reiner gives us these haunting figures emerging from the shadows with such economy of line. I almost sense the echoes of post-war angst, perhaps? This urgency feels very personal. He seems less interested in perfect representation, and more interested in evoking a feeling, a mood. It reminds me a bit of some of the German Expressionists, with their focus on inner experience rather than outward reality. Don’t you agree? Editor: Absolutely, that immediacy really comes across. Do you see any connection between his printmaking and the literary piece itself, Bandello? Curator: Ah, good question! Bandello’s stories are full of passion and, often, tragedy. Looking at this illustration, I wonder if Reiner's captured that sense of intensity and perhaps the darker undertones through the frenetic linework. The way he renders faces… distorted, searching. But perhaps I'm projecting. What are your thoughts? Editor: It feels right. I was stuck on how he portrays emotion using such sparse, raw materials. It leaves you wondering, even haunted. Curator: Exactly! Art that sticks with you – even when you're not quite sure why – is truly something special. I wonder what Bandello would make of it. Editor: Indeed. It’s quite the conversation starter.